Simon's Training (and i say that without a hint of irony..) Blog

I ache all over.

So there's this clever little on-line feature which enable us Marathon runners (!) to accurately measure on a map the distance between point A and Point B. If you use it properly, you can add in all those wrong turns you took, detours, short-cuts that ended in dead ends inhabited only by demon dogs from hell (or at least the Isle of Thanet)etc etc. So after a momumental, epic, Scott of the Antarctic type march yesterday I had mentally convinced myself that the distance from Whitstable to Reculver and back simply MUST equate to well over 20 miles...

And no matter how hard I try, no matter how many twists and turns in backstreets of Herne Bay I add in, I only get to a maximum of 17.87 miles and that makes me REALLY hacked off.


I mean, I can barely walk now, and its 2 pm on Monday. Whats more, i did half that walk carrying a rucksack with 15 kilos of driftood, much to the amusement of locals out having a stroll on Sunday afternoon, just to get used to walking with a weight on my back. The donkey costumes (arriving this week!) are not only going to be heavier that that, but I've also got water to carry...I have to say i am beginning to get a bit worried.

And whats more, the helpful magazine produced for all Marathon participants plopped smugly onto my doormat last week. It says, to my horror, that in the final few weeks participants should begin to "taper" their training. Eh?! Thats when i thought I'd begin to really crack into it.....

Right now I'm facing another dilemma. With London, and in particular the City, set to be inundated with G20 protestors on Wednesday, some firms are advising their employees to "dress down" lest they be targeted for being a moneyed capitalist dog. This means I am covered, since with my battered bicycle, frayed fleece, muddy rucksack and general unkempt demeanour, there's no way anyone will suspect me of being a bank employee.

Except that means the police will inevitably arrest me as a potential anarchistic. The wardrobe dilemmas will have to wait until Wednesday...